Posted by
Andrews on Friday, December 11, 2009 3:22:26 AM
I have two posts which I lack the time to write now, but want to mention. Oddly, both come from realizations I had while reading
an unrelated programming site.
First, a post mentioned before in passing, but which I should mention again. This is a post on the way in which populist and "progressive" political movements resemble the tends which drive both fashion and the computer industry. I mentioned it in passing in "
Officially Annoyed", though it is based on
this article on the site linked above. It is a realization which has interesting implications, and also explains in some respects why the left holds such appeal for the young. (In addition to the typical immature desire to "change the world" and "save the future", as well as "righting wrongs" and all the activist stuff that drives so many wrong-headed left-wing causes.)
Second, I ran across a quote which seems ideal for explaining both the belief in a managed currency and in economic "management" in general:
OOP fans tend to focus on the ideal, and in hindsight often
imagine what would happen if they picked the right horse
after things go wrong. This makes OOP seem like the correct
path if "one just knows how to plan properly." It is a
scaled-down version of gambling addiction: "If I just had
done it a little different, I would be rich." It is the
continuing feeling that you are just one little step
away from the jackpot.
It is in essence a psychological addiction to idealism.
OO does not necessarily reach this idealism, it just
magnifies the rewards and punishments of playing with
idealism.
The reality is that planning for and predicting
the future is tough; and that in reality one will
be wrong more often than one hopes.
It comes from
this page, talking about creating hierarchies in Object Oriented Programming (which I used as an analogy before in "
Object Oriented Programming, Apple Computers and Justice", even mentioning the same quote in "
Examples From Another Field"), but it seems relevant, and so it will be the basis of a post in the very near future. (Especially as my earlier use of the same quote left something to be desired.)
I just wanted to mention those two before I forgot them. As it is late and I lack the energy to write them now, I wanted to add them to the growing list contained in "
Upcoming Posts
"(12/06), "
One More Article
", "
Upcoming Posts
"(12/02), "
Another Quiet Day" and "
Upcoming Posts"(11/29).